Technology on show nationwide

News editor

A series of events this week are showcasing the latest developments in fields from aerospace to surgery

Subscribers to Centaur Media’s myriad of newsletters will have noticed a late call to register for Subcon, which is hosting The Engineer Conference 2015 at Birmingham NEC.

An eclectic mix of speakers will lead conference sessions on subjects including the design advantages brought about by 3D printing, the story of how the Bugatti 100p has been recreated, the engineering triumph that is the Rosetta Mission, plus an in-depth look at how graphene is emerging from the lab and into real world applications.

The Engineer Conference, Subcon and Advanced Manufacturing Shows are free to attend and details on how to register, plus information on how to beat the proposed rail strike on June 4, can be found here.

Still in Birmingham and news of an international nanotechnology conference that will investigate new technologies to help eradicate cancers and help during surgery.

Birmingham City University’s City Centre Campus hosts Advances in Nanotechnology on 9 June when scientists and engineers will convene to share new ideas on the uses of nanotechnology in medicine and healthcare, nanomechanics and industrial applications of graphene.

Speakers at the event include Prof Toshio Fukuda from Nagoya University in Japan and Prof Jackie Ying from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In publicity material Dr Mohammad Sakhawat Hussain, senior member at Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, said: “Prof Toshio Fukuda from Tokyo will be talking about his research into how the ultra-small technology can help to do the thinking for surgeons in operating theatres using Micro and Nano Robots, while Prof Jackie Ying from Massachusetts Institute of Technology will highlight the possibilities that nanotechnology has to cure cancers.”

Other speakers at the event include Prof Nick Quirke from Imperial College London, Prof Virginia Ayres from Michigan State University and Prof George Pharr from the University of Tennessee.

In November 2014 I wrote a piece about CrowdEmotion, a London-based start-up company that has developed technology that reads facial expressions to determine a person’s emotional state.

A month earlier CrowdEmotion’s CEO Matthew Celuszak had pitched his company’s idea and business plan at the annual Discovering Start-Ups Competition, which today launched its 6th edition.

Organised by Cambridge Wireless (CW) and SETsquared, Discovering Start-Ups is inviting emerging UK and international early-stage technology companies and digital entrepreneurs to win the chance to pitch their technology and business ideas at the finals in London on October 21, 2015.

The free to enter competition will bring together disruptive tech newcomers and an expert panel of judges from the technology and investment sector, including Google, BT, Broadcom, IBM, Deloitte, Orange Labs, Samsung, London Business Angels and Cambridge Angels.

As well as facing questions, the fifteen finalists will also get immediate feedback from the judges, chaired by serial entrepreneur, angel investor and chairman of CW, David Cleevely, CBE, FREng, FIET.

The deadline for applications is 14 September 2015. Users of social media can get chatting with

In a similar vein, Venturefest Bristol & Bath (June 9, 2015) aims to bring together the regions’ most innovative and enterprising companies and start-ups for a one-day event that includes talks from a number of international digital and technology experts.

Key exhibitors include Airbus, which is demonstrating its E-Fan low-carbon flight solution; Renishaw, which is showing its 3D printed titanium bicycle; Openbionics, which is exhibiting its robotic prosthetic arm; and Venturer, who will be exhibiting their driverless car.

More information on exhibitors, speakers and the line up of events can be found on the event’s website.

We frequently report about on-going concerns around skills and the remedies being formulated to alleviate the situation, with one good example to be found at the Time of Your Light initiative.

Time of Your Light is a joint initiative between IET and the Peak 2015 Scout & Guide jamboree and its goal is to inspire thousands of young people to ‘discover the excitement of engineering and technology’.

In short, the organisers aim to deliver a hands-on soldering and electronics activity over five days during the Peak 2015 Jamboree Camp being held at the Chatsworth House Estate (26-31 July 2015) but they need some assistance in delivering the project.

Juergen Pintaske, one of the activity’s volunteers, has been in touch to alert us to the situation, the details of which can be found in a PDF file located immediately below this article.

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